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Supervisors and CCUSA staff debate mandatory sewer-connection policy; joint subcommittee proposed
Summary
After staff reviewed the mandatory sewer-connection policy (in place since the mid-1980s), board members raised equity concerns and asked for deeper study; staff proposed a two-from-each-board subcommittee to return recommendations and possible ordinance changes.
Campbell County Service Authority staff reviewed the authority's mandatory sewer-connection policy and its history, prompting an extended discussion with county supervisors about fairness, financial impacts and potential exemptions.
Staff said the policy, established in the mid-1980s, requires property owners in areas where sewer is made available to either connect, prepay a portion of the fees for future connection, or face a lien on the property. Examples of past uses were discussed and staff noted that liened amounts remain with the property until paid.
Supervisors questioned circumstances where property owners recently invested in functioning on-site systems and whether exemptions should be allowed for functioning wells or septic systems. One supervisor said mandatory fees have political consequences but credited earlier boards for foresight in enabling the utility's current infrastructure.
Rather than rush a code change, staff recommended and the boards agreed to explore the issue further through a joint subcommittee of two supervisors and two CCUSA board members. The proposed subcommittee would review options used by neighboring jurisdictions, assess fiscal impacts for specific projects (for example, the Martin Drive project was cited as being about $444,000 short if mandatory fees were not collected), and return with recommendations in time for the fall code update if changes are warranted.
The boards did not adopt any immediate exemption; the discussion closed with agreement to schedule a follow-up subcommittee meeting and request staff analysis.
